Top Sports Stories 2017: Livonia gets its revenge on Mattituck

Mattituck beat Livonia in the 2015 New York State Class B baseball final for the Tuckers’ only state title. It was payback time this past June when Livonia stopped the Tuckers short in their quest for a second one.

“It was an awesome season,” Mattituck coach Steve DeCaro said afterward. “Sadly it ends on a loss, but only one team, the state champion, gets to end on a win.”

Livonia did what other teams had trouble doing in essentially silencing Mattituck’s bats. The Tuckers (19-7) were held to four hits as VanScoter, a 5-11 lefthander, had 10 strikeouts and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before back-to-back, two-out singles by Ryan McCaffrey and Matt Heffernan broke that up.

Mattituck claimed its second regional title in three years with a 5-2 defeat of Rondout Valley. Rondout Valley pitcher Branch Cranfield had a no-hitter going through five innings before Mattituck’s fortunes changed dramatically over the course of four at-bats in the sixth inning, leading to a three-run burst.

“It’s my first time going upstate and it’s just a hell of a feeling,” said Bryce Grathwohl, whose pitching arm and bat were key factors in Mattituck’s triumph. “I haven’t stopped smiling after getting the last out.”